British Isles aboard Regal Princess 7/26, several questions

[fruitmachine]

4 hours ago, daveoc said:

Just got back from the Regal round UK and there is one more option for getting to Edinburgh that is rarely talked about and that is the local bus, 43 from memory. We usually do the 99 shuttle but this year we thought we would miss Edinburgh and just have a walk around the town of South Queensferry.

 

When you get off the tender you turn right and the town is straight in front of you. We walked and got to the centre in about 10 minutes. In truth there is not a lot to see there but it is quite pretty and if you don't want Edinburgh it's a nice enough hour or two.

 

In the middle of town there is a main road on the left and a few yards up it there is a bus stop. We saw a few people waiting for the bus so we thought we would give it a go. The bus runs every 25 minutes and the flat fare into Edinburgh is £2. The bus itself is a newish double decker, similar to the 99 shuttle.

 

In Edinburgh there are three stops along Princess Street, west middle and end and coming back the stops are on the opposite side of the road. Again the fare is £2 back, all Scottish buses, in fact pretty much all UK buses, are running a Government scheme of £2 for any length of journey on a scheduled bus route.

 

So £4 each return into Edinburgh, the shuttle takes around 20/30 minutes while the 43 takes around 30/40 minutes, all dependent on time of day and traffic.

 

Hope that helps some of the adventurous among you. 

 

 

Today the 43 is £3.00 from South Queensferry to Edinburgh each way, but it was announced just this week that this will change to £2.00 from the 30 June 2024.  These new fares are also integrated into the Lothian-wide £5 DAYticket and TapTapCap of £4.80.
https://www.lothianbuses.com/news/2024/06/lothian-announces-cheaper-fares-and-new-routes-for-west-edinburgh/

 

The £2 maximum fare scheme is for England, not the rest of the UK.

Edited June 9 by fruitmachine

[daveoc]

3 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Today the 43 is £3.00 from South Queensferry to Edinburgh each way, but it was announced just this week that this will change to £2.00 from the 30 June 2024.  These new fares are also integrated into the Lothian-wide £5 DAYticket and TapTapCap of £4.80.
https://www.lothianbuses.com/news/2024/06/lothian-announces-cheaper-fares-and-new-routes-for-west-edinburgh/

 

The £2 maximum fare scheme is for England, not the rest of the UK.

Ah, i looked at the Lothian bus fare without realising there is a separate Lothian Country. We paid £2 each way which means we owe Lothian £4. Still works out as £12 return for a couple and then £8 return from June 30th.

[jones721]

8 hours ago, daveoc said:

Just got back from the Regal round UK and there is one more option for getting to Edinburgh that is rarely talked about and that is the local bus, 43 from memory. We usually do the 99 shuttle but this year we thought we would miss Edinburgh and just have a walk around the town of South Queensferry.

 

When you get off the tender you turn right and the town is straight in front of you. We walked and got to the centre in about 10 minutes. In truth there is not a lot to see there but it is quite pretty and if you don't want Edinburgh it's a nice enough hour or two.

 

In the middle of town there is a main road on the left and a few yards up it there is a bus stop. We saw a few people waiting for the bus so we thought we would give it a go. The bus runs every 25 minutes and the flat fare into Edinburgh is £2. The bus itself is a newish double decker, similar to the 99 shuttle.

 

In Edinburgh there are three stops along Princess Street, west middle and end and coming back the stops are on the opposite side of the road. Again the fare is £2 back, all Scottish buses, in fact pretty much all UK buses, are running a Government scheme of £2 for any length of journey on a scheduled bus route.

 

So £4 each return into Edinburgh, the shuttle takes around 20/30 minutes while the 43 takes around 30/40 minutes, all dependent on time of day and traffic.

 

Hope that helps some of the adventurous among you. 

 

 

We’ve done the train about 6 times, the local bus once and the X99 a couple of times. It’s a straight walk into town as it says above. The only difference between the buses is that one stops to pick up and drop off at bus stops, the other goes straight into a certain point in Edinburgh without stopping. I don’t think I could make the train this time. It’s a very pretty walk but I think the steps would prove too much for me now. If you think about the height of the bridge, that’s how high you have to climb on the steps and, once at the top, it’s a pretty walk through the trees and then out onto the road by the train station.

 

Royal Yacht Britannia - where the Royal Family used to take their holidays before it was decommissioned. Headphones guided tour and video clips, photos and information throughout the tour. Well worth a visit. Right next to a huge shopping mall.

 

Edinburgh is always one of my favourite ports on the cruise.

[jones721]

19 hours ago, smilesntravels said:

Hello!  I can't believe you've done a British Isles cruise almost every year since 2012.  How nice!  You must know the Regal well.  Did your daughter enjoy having her wedding on the ship?

 

I do have questions, but have been on the computer so much and am mostly reading and not actually planning anything, lol.  So you meant that you'll be on the 7/26/24 sailing?  Great.  That's funny that your mom watches the games, but not so much you.  I never miss them, but made an exception for this trip.  I meant to ask others... are there many places/bars on the ship that will have tv (hopefully the Olympics) on?  Since we booked an inside, I think I'll be depressed sitting in a small dark cabin to watch them a little bit, instead of having the view of the ocean passing us by.  I don't mind an obstructed view either.  We had a partially obstructed view on HAL once.  It's just nice to be able to step outside and get fresh air, and see the water now and then without having to run upstairs to see where we are.  Yes, I know there are ship cams.  I just haven't been in an inside cabin yet.  Oh well :(.

 

Okay one question for now- many have given me tips on what to see in Edinburgh, or more like the busses.  I have no idea still if that is something we just buy when we get off the ship, buy a ticket for the bus, then go?  Is the Edinburgh Castle something not to miss?

 

Thanks!  More questions later, maybe 🙂 

 

Vicky

Yes, we are on the 26th July sailing this year. Princess alternates their ships every year so not always the same ship doing the British Isles, The wedding cruise was from Southampton to Spain and back. My favourite British Isles cruise was on Emerald Princess - booked last minute not expecting much but service could not be faulted. 

 

I wouldn’t worry about an inside cabin. We rarely spend much time in there and I’m happy with both. I am guessing that the Olympics will be shown in many places around the ship (hope so for my mum’s sake otherwise she will be stuck in the cabin).

 

The Royal Mile is worth a stroll down and lots of local shops selling touristy stuff. The Royal Yacht Britannia - I think we might go again this year as it’s been a while. I posted info on that above. Shopping is good. There are a couple of art museums. And the Edinburgh Fringe (you’ll have to google it) makes a nice atmosphere as you stroll around. Last time, we also took the bus to the bottom of the Golden Mile to Holyrood which is the seat of the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace, official residence of Queen / King of England.

[Alanr204]

On 5/26/2024 at 12:55 PM, karatemom2 said:

 

Edited to add: We ended up cruising during the last summer Olympics and to be honest, you don’t get much of it. NBC is not one of the channels offered and mostly you will be able to grab highlights via MSNBC news. If that is a super big priority for you, you may want to look at alternate dates. My DH is a big Olympic fan and he was very disappointed to miss a great deal of the coverage on our cruise. 

NBC and MSNBC will be the USA providers for the olympics, the OP is travelling in the UK and the ship will more than likely offer one of the British feeds. 

[Pirateskigirl]

I have no doubt, you will be able to watch the Olympics either on MUTS or in the Double Down bar on Regal.  It will probably be the UK Olympic feed vs. one focused on USA athletes.  

 

If you want to go to Edinburgh Castle buy the tickets in advance.  If not you should be able to walk up and get a ticket for either Hollyrood Palace or Royal Britannia same day.  One of our visit to Edinburgh, we did the castle first, small line for the Crown Jewels, then strolled down the Royal Mile, popped in a pub for a bite & a pint and walked down to Hollyrood and enjoyed the self guided tour.  We took a taxi back up the Mile to a Scotch tasting. a long day but worth it. 

 

We did Britannia this trip because Prince Edward was in residence at Hollyrood and it was closed to the public. 

 

From South Queensferry the X99 worked great to get into Central Edinburgh. The X99 included the tram on the ticket.  Dropped us off right back at the dock. You buy the ticket when you get off the tender. Enjoy your trip. 

[smilesntravels]

Thanks again for all of the responses and tips.  With the short planning time, the cruise happening during the Olympics and husband stubbornly not wanting a balcony cabin, we decided to cancel this cruise.  I was very much looking forward to it, and now we'll do Alaska instead.  Hopefully next year for the British Isles, with more planning time and info about the ports!

 

Alaska is one of a few states that I haven't been to, and we'll have less ports to plan for, plus we'll go the week the Olympics end.  And we will get a balcony.  Any tips?  LOL, just kidding.  🙂 

Edited Saturday at 12:54 PM by smilesntravels

[zonacruiser25]

Like all the info you share.  We are doing this cruise next year in late June.  I hope we will make it to Belfast.  Can you tell me if the Belfast port is walkable?  I do not mind a couple mile walk.  Looking forward to seeing the Titanic Belfast then heading to town to explore.  Thanks for the help if you know.

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, zonacruiser25 said:

Like all the info you share.  We are doing this cruise next year in late June.  I hope we will make it to Belfast.  Can you tell me if the Belfast port is walkable?  I do not mind a couple mile walk.  Looking forward to seeing the Titanic Belfast then heading to town to explore.  Thanks for the help if you know.

Not the nicest walk but from recollection the Titanic Belfast is 2 miles give or take from where the ship docks.  We paid to take the Princess shuttle to the town center last year then walked about the same distance to Titanic Belfast and then back to the bus stop.  While it was nice to see what was in the town center if that's all that you want to do and you're a good walker then it's easy enough to do.

[Lady Meer]

2 hours ago, zonacruiser25 said:

Like all the info you share.  We are doing this cruise next year in late June.  I hope we will make it to Belfast.  Can you tell me if the Belfast port is walkable?  I do not mind a couple mile walk.  Looking forward to seeing the Titanic Belfast then heading to town to explore.  Thanks for the help if you know.

Titanic Belfast is really good but would advise you book if you're there at a weekend. If you like UK pubs, visit The Duke of York. It’s in an alley near the Cathedral. You won’t be disappointed!

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

Titanic Belfast is really good but would advise you book if you're there at a weekend. If you like UK pubs, visit The Duke of York. It’s in an alley near the Cathedral. You won’t be disappointed!

We were in Belfast on a Friday and booked when we got arrived at Titanic Belfast.  We had no idea they had timed entry and limited tickets available each day.  We were able to talk them into giving us tickets an hour and 15 minutes from the time we arrived so we were lucky.  It's definitely one of those places where if you really want to go, buy the tickets as soon as you can.

[zonacruiser25]

Thank you for the Belfast info!  I will be buying a ticket before we cruise.  I only hope Princess can make good on our port of call next year!

[azbirdmom]

4 hours ago, zonacruiser25 said:

Thank you for the Belfast info!  I will be buying a ticket before we cruise.  I only hope Princess can make good on our port of call next year!

 

If they aren't refundable you may want to get online and order your tickets the morning you arrive in Belfast when it's clear that you will actually be docking.  That way you can confidently pick a time for your tour of the museum.